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Photoresponsive Stripe Pattern in Achiral Azobenzene Liquid Crystals |
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| Authors: | Dr. Kunihiko Okano Dr. Satoshi Aya Dr. Fumito Araoka Haruki Obara Shiori Sato Prof. Dr. Takashi Yamashita Prof. Dr. Hideo Takezoe Prof. Dr. Kouichi Asakura |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Keio University, 3‐14‐1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku‐ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223‐8522 (Japan);2. Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O‐okayama, Meguro, Tokyo, 152‐8552 (Japan);3. Physicohemical Soft‐Matter Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2‐1 Hiroshima, Wako,Saitama 351‐0198 (Japan);4. Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2461 Yamazaki, Noda‐shi, Chiba 278‐8510 (Japan) |
| Abstract: | A periodic stripe pattern is found in the nematic phase close to the smectic phase of photoresponsive achiral liquid‐crystalline compounds. The origin of the stripe patterns can be ascribed to an extremely large bent elastic constant K33. In addition, we succeeded in controlling the pattern by the following two methods: 1) the stripe disappears by a trans–cis photoisomerization upon UV light irradiation and reappears upon light termination, and 2) the stripe pattern is stabilized over the whole nematic phase, at approximately 10 °C, by polymerization of the compounds. |
| Keywords: | cybotactic cluster liquid crystals nematic phase photochemistry stripe pattern |